Giving Tuesday: Make sure to be cautious when donating online this year
Posted December 1, 2020 9:12 am.
Last Updated December 1, 2020 9:18 am.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Take a pause before you hit ‘donate’ if you’re contributing online to a charity this Giving Tuesday.
That’s the advice from the Better Business Bureau, as donating in a COVID-19 pandemic means doing so with caution.
As has been the case with many aspects of our lives, we’re having to turn online to do many things because of physical distancing.
The BBB’s Karla Laird says it’s imperative that if you do donate to a charity, you do so with one that’s upfront with information.
“Sharing what I call details about transparency,” she explains. “And that would be your mission statement, your programs, your goals, your achievements that you’ve done in the past, and the projects that you have coming up right now, and details about how their money is going to be supporting these projects.”
There have been no shortage of scams during the pandemic. For instance, Laird says thieves are using incredibly emotional, heartbreaking stories to try to get people to pass on their cash.
When giving to a charity on #GivingTuesday…
Do you research – where’s the money going?
Look for transparency – the charity’s financial statements, goals, etc.
Take a pause before you click that cash away: don’t be immediately swayed by emotional photos, etc.— Ria ‘Hall-y Jolly’ Renouf (@riarenouf) December 1, 2020
“Pictures can say a thousand words, and sometimes these pictures are also stolen, so double check the information, make sure that the proceeds are going where they’ve said that they will be going. Find out, if necessary, how are they going to put these donations to work.”
She says the BBB has received reports from people who thought they were donating to a charity but found out they were wrong when it was too late.
“The organization had no idea that this was taking place, or even the fact that, you know, they were connected to these products,” she tells NEWS 1130.
With more than 86,000 registered charities in Canada, Laird says it’s important for donors to take a beat and think before confirming your gift.
Calling it a “new reality,” Laird stresses the more transparent charities are with how your gifts are used, the better.
